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Dumont, Ellis lead Predators over Flames

Mar 8, 2008 - 6:45 AM CALGARY, Alberta (Ticker) -- J.P. Dumont scored off a rebound with 2:47 left in overtime to lift the Nashville Predators to a 2-1 victory over the Calgary Flames on Friday.

Scott Nichol tallied in regulation and Dan Ellis stopped 29 shots for the Predators (35-26-8), who moved two points ahead of idle Vancouver (33-24-10) for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

"(Flames goaltender Miikka) Kiprusoff was real strong and I just thought it was really resilient," Nashville coach Barry Trotz said. "We had guys pay the price, guys go down, found ways to get things done. I thought our penalty-killing was great for us and we get a couple key saves and a couple key goals. It was a real resilient win and a real gutsy win."

Craig Conroy netted the lone goal for Calgary (35-23-10), which had its two-game winning streak snapped but remained even with Minnesota (37-26-6) for first place in the Northwest Division. The Wild fell, 3-2, in overtime to Atlanta on Friday.

Dumont's 26th goal of the season was one of the easiest he ever will score.

Attempting to carry the puck out of his own zone, Flames defenseman Adrian Aucoin turned it over in the right faceoff circle, and Alexander Radulov gathered it. Radulov fired a shot that hit the left goalpost and caromed to Dumont, who deposited it into a vacant net for the win.

"I knew it was a 4-on-4 and the defense is trying to make a clean pass," Dumont said. "When the puck went off the post, I just put my stick on it."

"You just try to create offense," Aucoin said. "I knew they had two guys in the zone, so I thought if I could beat them, we'd have a 3-on-2. Sometimes you should make the simplest play, and I didn't make it."

Dumont believed it was important to bounce back after Thursday's 6-2 loss to Vancouver.

"After the game last night, nobody was happy about it," he said. "we had a really good effort from everyone. It was a big two points."

Nichol tied the game at 1-1 at 8:58 of the third, when his shot from the left circle deflected off Kiprusoff's arm and into the right corner of the net.

"I just tried to get some speed through the neutral zone," Nichol said. "I think their defense was a little flat-footed at the blue line. I saw (Flames defenseman Robyn) Regehr stumble a little bit, so I just wanted to shoot the puck and get it up on Kiprusoff. Luckily, it went in. If you throw enough at the net, hopefully one of them will go in."

Calgary opened the scoring at 11:38 of the second thanks to a miscue by Nashville defenseman Ryan Suter.

Suter's pass to fellow blue-liner Shea Weber was off the mark, and the puck bounced off the boards and right to Conroy in the slot. The veteran center gathered it and easily beat Ellis high to the glove side for his 11th goal of the season.

Flames captain Jarome Iginla was held without a point and remains one goal shy of breaking Theoren Fleury's franchise record of 364 goals.

Kiprusoff stopped 34 shots for Calgary, which was 0-for-6 with the man advantage.

"I thought that Nashville played better than we did," Calgary coach Mike Keenan said. "We had a disturbingly slow start again, and when you can't score on a power play, it's difficult in a game as tight as this game unfolded and progressed.

"They certainly outplayed us in the first period and established their game in our building. We didn't deserve to win tonight."